Image Editing Tools for
Web Design and Development

Kaplan University
Professor Hedgepeth
August 24, 2013

Image editing involves methods of altering images, to both digital photographs and traditional photographs. Applications used to create interactive Web graphics are the primary tools designers use to alter images. Many image editing programs are also used to render or create computer art from scratch. Designers must consider the important elements of a digital tool when trying to choose one for a specific purpose.
One of the requirements for many of the tools designers use is having a procedure to allow the user to select part(s) of an image, and applying a change without affecting the rest of the image. Most graphics applications have several methods of accomplishing this; a marquee tool selects rectangular areas, a lasso tool enables a freehand trace of an area, and a magic wand tool selects objects or areas in the image by the closeness of its color or luminance. These are in addition to “more advanced abilities such as edge detection, masking, alpha compositing, and color and channel-based extraction” (Arms & Fleischhauer, 2003). Animating the border of a selected area in an image helps the user to differentiate the border from the image background.
Layers are another feature designers should consider when choosing an image editor, and fortunately, they are common to many graphics applications. Layers are stacked on top of each other, but each layer is capable of being positioned in a way that is altered and blended with the layers below it; this can be done without affecting any of the other layers. This work routine has become the norm for the majority of graphics applications available today because it enables extreme flexibility for the user and its ease of use.
Moving on, resizing, or scaling images is again, another important process designers use when editing; this means making them larger or smaller. Many images are often reduced in size when being prepared for the Internet. Editing programs use a process called resampling, which can calculate new pixel values of images whose spacing may be larger or smaller than the original image.
The Cropping feature is employed by many designers when using a digital editor. Cropping creates a new image when the user selects a chosen rectangular area from the original image, and the remaining part of the original image is discarded. However, image cropping does not reduce the resolution of the area being cropped, and therefore it is best for the original image to have a high resolution. One of the primary reasons designers use cropping is to improve the composition of the image in the new image.
Lastly, most designers like to be creative when designing for a certain purpose. Special effects can be added to an image, which can sometimes create unusual results, also made capable by the editor. Many image editors have a variety of special effects that allow the user to skew and distort images in various ways. Other examples of special effects that can be applied to an image are artistic effects, various forms of distortion, and texture effects, or combinations of all three.
In conclusion, there are a vast number of graphics editors that designers can choose from, but not all of the editors available are beneficial to every designer in the same ways. Every designer has a certain feature that they like to utilize the most, therfor making it important for them to research them, and choose the one that would benefit them the most for the project at hand.

Reference:
(Arms & Fleischhauer, 2003). Factors To Consider When Choosing Digital Formats. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/techdocs/digform/DigForm_Intro_v04.pdf